Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “ion source”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 739 records · Page 41

Modeling of the Convection and Interaction of Ring Current, Plasmaspheric and Plasma Sheet Plasmas in the Inner Magnetosphere

Distinctive sources of ions reside in the plasmasphere, plasmasheet, and ring current regions at discrete energies constitute the major plasma populations in the inner/middle magnetosphere. They contribute to the electrodynamics of the ionosphere-magnetosphere system as important carriers of the global current system, in triggering; geomagnetic storm and substorms, as well as critical components of plasma instabilities such as reconnection and Kelvin-Helmholtz instability at the magnetospheric boundaries. Our preliminary analysis of in-situ measurements shoves the complexity of the plasmas pitch angle distributions at particularly the cold and warm plasmas, vary dramatically at different local times and radial distances from the Earth in response to changes in solar wind condition and Dst index. Using an MHD-ring current coupled code, we model the convection and interaction of cold, warm and energetic ions of plasmaspheric, plasmasheet, and ring current origins in the inner magnetosphere. We compare our simulation results with in-situ and remotely sensed measurements from recent instrumentation on Geotail, Cluster, THEMIS, and TWINS spacecraft.

Fok, Mei-Ching↗

Raman Scattering Studies in Dilute Magnetic Semiconductor Zn(1-x)Co(x)O

Raman spectra of ZnO and Co substituted Zn1-xCoxO (ZCO) were carried out using the Raman microprobe system with an p.,+ ion laser source of 514.5 nm wavelength. The shift towards the lower frequency side of the nonpolar E210w mode and the broadening due to Co substitution in ZnO were analyzed using the phonon confinement model. The magnetic measurements showed ferromagnetic behavior with the maximum saturation magnetization (1.2micron Beta/ErCo) for 10% Co substitution, which decreased wi th at further increase in Co concentrations. The intensities of E1(LO) at 584 cm-1 and multiphonon modes at 540 cm-1 were increased with an increase in Co substitution. The additional Raman modes in ceramic targets of ZCO spectra for higher concentration of Co substitution (x=15%-20%) were identified to be due to the spinel ZnCo2O4 secondary phase.

Samanta, K.↗

JAXA-NASA Interoperability Demonstration for Application of DTN Under Simulated Rain Attenuation

As is well known, K-band or higher band communications in space link segment often experience intermittent disruptions caused by heavy rainfall. In view of keeping data integrity and establishing autonomous operations under such situation, it is important to consider introducing a tolerance mechanism such as Delay/Disruption Tolerant Networking (DTN). The Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) is studying DTN as part of the standardization activities for space data systems. As a contribution to CCSDS and a feasibility study for future utilization of DTN, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) conducted an interoperability demonstration for confirming its tolerance mechanism and capability of automatic operation using Data Relay Test Satellite (DRTS) space link and its ground terminals. Both parties used the Interplanetary Overlay Network (ION) open source software, including the Bundle Protocol, the Licklider Transmission Protocol, and Contact Graph Routing. This paper introduces the contents of the interoperability demonstration and its results.

Suzuki, Kiyoshisa↗

Genotypic & Phenotypic Diversity of Microbial Isolates from the Mars Exploration Rovers

Mars-bound rovers such as the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) endure strict planetary protection implementation campaigns to assess bioburden. The objective of this study is to identify cultivable microorganisms isolated by the NASA Standard Assay from spacecraft during pre-launch and evaluate their potential to survive conditions on the Martian surface. Of approximately 350 isolates collected from the MER spacecraft archive, 171 microorganisms were reconstituted for characterization via 16S rRNA fingerprinting. Alignment of 16S sequences revealed high levels of sequence similarity to spore-forming species, overwhelmingly of the genera Bacillus (73.7%) and Paenibacillus (14.0%). Samples underwent phenotype characterization employing multiple carbon sources and ion concentrations in an automated microarray format using the Omnilog system. Working and stock cultures were prepared to address the immediate needs for day-to-day culture utilization and long-term preservation, respectively. Results from this study produced details about the microbes that contaminate surfaces of spacecraft, as well as a preliminary evaluation of a rapid biochemical ID method that also provides a phenotypic assessment of contaminants. The overall outcome of this study will benefit emerging cleaning and sterilization technologies for preventing forward contamination that could negatively impact future life detection or sample return missions.

Mars Exploration Rovers↗

X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy

The interaction of photon and the electron goes back to the early part of 19th century emanating from the photo-electric effect depicted by none other than Albert Einstein (Ref 1) described in 1905, and the redistribution of kinetic energy resulting from the interaction of x-ray and solids reported during early part of the century (Ref.2). The spectrum resolutions obtained at that time was not sufficient to observe distinct peaks in spectra for materials. Thus, these phenomena hardly attracted any attention for many years following these discoveries. The modern X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) has been possible by the extensive and significant contribution from Kai Siegbahn and others (Ref.3, 4) of Uppsala University. Siegbahn developed and employed a high-resolution electron spectrometer that revealed electron peaks in a spectrum emerging from the interaction of x-rays and solids. Eventually, Kai Siegbahn received Nobel Prize in 1981 for his contributions to XPS. Around 1958, shifts in elemental peaks were realized in compounds when the same elements are bound to other but different elements. This discovery resulted in the chemical state identification in various chemicals as well as the oxidation states of atoms in compounds. Because of these useful physical effects, the Uppsala group named XPS with a synonymous name of ESCA (Electron Spectroscopy for Chemical Analysis) used widely today and will be used here alternatively. Therefore, XPS or ESCA not only identifies the element, but also the compound these elements form, from their chemical shifts. Compared to other micro-analytical techniques such as Energy Dispersive (EDS) or Wavelength Dispersive (WDS) techniques, XPS analyzes only few atomic layers present on the surface. This was discovered early in 1966 (Ref. 5). While this has awarded a merit to the analytical technique to analyze very thin layers such as films and coatings, it often analyzes the adsorbed superficial gases and contaminations on a sample introduced to its analytical chamber. This necessitates the surface is cleaned and the underlying material, material of interest, is exposed in a clean environment such that the material of interest is analyzed. The cleaning is accomplished by a scanning ion gun within the analytical chamber of the instrument. Ion gun uses an argon gas and is commonly attached in most modern machines. Reliable and efficient vacuum systems employed in modern machines does not allow adsorbed layers to rebuild after the surface is cleaned. Development of efficient and reliable vacuum pumps over these developmental years is yet another important step in the commercialization of XPS machines. Vacuum levels of better than 10-7 torr are essential to increase the mean free path of electrons released from the sample surface. Thus, modern machines are equipped with high capacity ion, turbo or cryogenic pumps in their analytical chambers. Today, XPS has advanced from an applied physics laboratory to industry for use in quality control as well as analysis of contaminants and has taken a dominant role in microanalysis. Its uniqueness arises from the fact that it is considered non-destructive compared to other common micro-analytical techniques using the electron and ion excitation sources. Polymers and plastics could be analyzed since the binding energies of saturated and unsaturated bonds in atoms could be separated. Extremely thin layers could be analyzed including materials with layered structures. The technique, though did not advance for many years, has now opened a new window for research as well as applications in industry due to its ability to separate and measure the chemical shifts in bound elements. Principles

Panda, Binayak↗

Status of the Multiply-Charged Ion Research Facility at JPL

In order to provide a better understanding of the energy balance and ion composition in solar, stellar, and planetary atmospheres, and in the interstellar medium, a new research facility for the study of interactions of multiply-charged ions has been developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

charged↗

Dynamics of Langmuir and ion-sound waves in type III solar radio sources

The study traces the evolution of Langmuir and ion-sound waves in type III sources, incorporating linear growth, linear damping, and nonlinear electrostatic decay. Improved estimates are obtained for the wavenumber range of growing waves and the nonlinear coupling coefficient for the decay process. It is shown that the conditions in the solar wind do not allow a steady state to be attained; instead, bursty linear and nonlinear interactions take place, consistent with the highly inhomogeneous and impulsive waves actually observed. Nonlinear growth is found to be rapid enough to saturate the growth of the parent Langmuir waves in the available interaction time. The competing processes of nonlinear wave collapse and quasi-linear relaxation are discussed, and it is concluded that neither is responsible for the saturation of Langmuir growth.

Robinson, P. A.↗

Ion implantation of solar cell junctions without mass analysis

This paper is a summary of an investigation to determine the feasibility of producing solar cells by means of ion implantation without the use of mass analysis. Ion implants were performed using molecular and atomic phosphorus produced by the vaporization of solid red phosphorus and ionized in an electron bombardment source. Solar cell junctions were ion implanted by mass analysis of individual molecular species and by direct unanalyzed implants from the ion source. The implant dose ranged from 10 to the 14th to 10 to the 16th atoms/sq cm and the energy per implanted atom ranged from 5 KeV to 40 KeV in this study.

Fitzgerald, D.↗

Effects of plasmaspheric ion heating due to ionospheric and magnetospheric sources

In an initial study, the He(+) observations from the Retarding Ion Mass Spectrometer on Dynamics Explorer 1 (RIMS/DE 1) was examined for more than 120 transits of the plasmasphere in the fall of 1981. The He(+) to H(+) ratio was determined as it varied spatially over portions of the DE 1 orbit, and its variation with solar and magnetic activities and with local time, focusing specifically on the inner plasmasphere. These variations were compared along the L = 2 field line with calculations made by the Field Line Interhemispheric Plasma (FLIP) code. In a recently submitted paper, the He(+) to H(+) density ratio was examined for all the available data from 1981 to 1984 from the RIMS on DE 1. There are two basic characteristics of the ratio: one is that the ratio decreases with radial distance in the plasmasphere, and the other is the strong dependence of the density ratio on solar activity. In addition to the He(+)/H(+) ratio research, a phenomenon has been studied in the topside ionosphere which relates to the thermal coupling of the ionosphere to the plasmasphere. There is little or no correlation with magnetic and solar activity here. Another study has been directed toward the relation of plasma properties to the density gradients forming the plasmapause. The study has followed a two-pronged approach. First, the observations have been analyzed to determine what happens to the plasma properties across these boundary layers (density gradients). Second, comparisons were made with FLIP model calculations to determine how well the model is able to treat these conditions. Among the significant lessons learned in these studies are two that bear directly on the direction of future investigations in this area. First, composition cannot be viewed independently of thermal structure. Second, solar and magnetic activity effects are real; but the causal relationship between activity and effects is frequently quite complicated because several different processes appear to be operating in different ways and on different time scales. Under these circumstances, large correlation coefficients should not be expected and are not generally found.

Comfort, Richard H.↗

Efficient Removal of Lead Ions from Aqueous Media Using Sustainable Sources Based on Marine Algae

The goal of this project is to explore a new method to efficiently remove Pb(II) ions from water by processing Undaria pinnatifida into immobilized beads using sodium alginate and calcium chloride. The resulting biosorbent was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). Using immobilized U. pinnatifida, we investigated the effect of various factors on Pb(II) ion removal efficiency such as temperature, pH, ionic strength, time, and underlying biosorption mechanisms. For Pb(II) ion biosorption studies, Pb(II) ion biosorption data were obtained and analyzed using Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption models. It is found that the maximum Pb(II) ion adsorption capacity (X m ) of U. pinnatifida was estimated to be ~5 times greater than that of activated carbon, indicating the superior Pb(II) ion removal capability of U. pinnatifida compared to activated carbon. In addition, a thermodynamic study indicates that biosorption processes are found to be endothermic and an increase in the Pb(II) ion solution temperature provides a more preferential reaction toward Pb(II) ion biosorption.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Solar filament eruptions and energetic particle events

The 1981 December 5 solar filament eruption that is associated with an energetic (E greater than 50 MeV) particle event observed at 1 AU. The eruption was photographed in H-alpha and was observed by the Solwind whitelight coronagraph on P78-1. It occurred well away from any solar active region and was not associated with an impulsive microwave burst, indicating that magnetic complexity and a detectable impulsive phase are not required for the production of a solar energetic particle (SEP) event. No metric type II or IV emission was observed, but an associated interplanetary type II burst was detected by the low-frequency radio experiment on ISEE 3. The December 5 and two other SEP events lacking evidence for low coronal shocks had unusually steep energy spectra (gamma greater than 3.5). In terms of shock acceleration, this suggests that shocks formed relatively high in the corona may produce steeper energy spectra than those formed at lower altitudes. It is noted that the filament itself maybe one source of the ions accelerated to high energies, since it is the only plausible coronal source of the He(+) ions observed in SEP events.

Kahler, S. W.↗

Nature and location of the source of plasma sheet boundary layer ion beams

Onsager et al. (1991) have put forward a model of the formation of the plasma sheet boundary layer (PSBL) which relies on a steady source of plasma from a spatially extended plasma sheet, together with steady equatorward and earthward ExB convection of field lines due to reconnection at a downtail neutral line. This model is a synthesis of earlier proposals and it explains such features as an electron layer exterior to the ion boundary layer, ion velocity dispersion, counter streaming beams, low-speed cutoffs in the beams. It also explains the apparent evolution of the ion beams through 'kidney bean' shaped velocity-space distributions toward quasi-isotropic shells without invoking pitch angle scattering or energy diffusion. In this paper we explore two ramifications of the model. In principle we can map, as a function of time, the downtail neutral line distance and establish whether or not it is retreating during substorm recovery. We can also reconstruct the plasma distribution function near the neutral line to see if it is most consistent with mantle or plasma sheet plasma. We perform this analysis using International Sun Earth Explorer (ISEE) Fast Plasma Experiment (FPE) data for two plasma sheet recovery events, one on March 1, 1978, and the other on April 18, 1978. On March 1, 1978, we find evidence for an initial retreat from around 110 to 160 R(sub E) in the first 15 min; little further retreat occurs thereafter. On April 18, 1978, the neutral line location ranges from as little as 40 R(sub E) tailward of the satellite to as much as 200 R(sub E), but there is no evidence for a systematic retreat. The reconstructed ion distributions for these events are most consistent with a plasma sheet origin for the March 1 case and possibly plasma mantle or low-latitude boundary layer for the April 18 case.

Elphic, R. C.↗

On the reaction of N/+/ ions with O2

The reaction of atomic nitrogen ions with molecular oxygen is a major loss mechanism for N(+) ions in the ionosphere and is a source of NO(+) ions and atomic nitrogen at certain altitudes. Ion cyclotron resonance methods are used to measure the product distribution of thermal energy N(+) ions reacting with O2. Three product channels are identified with the following fractional distributions: O2(+) + N, 0.65 plus or minus 0.04; NO(+) + O, 0.31 plus or minus 0.04; O(+) + NO, 0.04 plus or minus 0.02.

Huntress, W. T., Jr.↗

A precursor to the Venus bow shock

This paper describes the observations by the Pioneer-Venus-Orbiter Langmuir probe of the low-density Venus bow shock precursor, i.e., a region of electron and ion-current enhancements just upstream from the Venus bow shock. It is suggested that the precursor signatures represent the effects of a small population of energetic ions in this region. Several possible planetary sources of these ions are considered. The paper also discusses the Langmuir probe measurement technique itself as it applies to the very low densities of the precursor.

Brace, L. H.↗

Investigation of effect of fluoride on corrosion of 2S-0 aluminum and 347 stainless steel in fuming nitric acid at 170 F

The effect of small additions of fluoride on the corrosion of 2S-0 aluminum and 347 stainless steel by fuming nitric acid at 170 degrees F has been evaluated quantitatively by the determination of the weight loss of metal specimens immersed in the acid. The ratio of metal surface area to volume of acid was approximately 7.5 inch (superscript)-1 in all cases. It was found that for acids containing no fluorides the weight loss of aluminum was approximately 1/5 that of stainless steel. Addition of 1 percent fluoride ion to the acid reduced the weight loss of both metals to practically zero even after 26 days of exposure to the acid at 170 degrees F. The minimum quantity of fluoride ion required to inhibit corrosion was found to be approximately 0.25 and 0.5 percent for aluminum and stainless steel, respectively, in white fuming nitric acid and 0.5 and 1 percent in red fuming nitric acid (18 percent nitrogen dioxide). These fluoride percentages were based on the total weight of acid. Provided the concentration of fluoride ion was sufficient to inhibit corrosion, the source of these ions was immaterial. Additional information concerning the effect of fluorides on corrosion was obtained by measuring the electrode potentials of the metals against a platinum reference electrode.

Feiler, Charles E↗

Ponderomotive effects on distributions of O(+) ions in the auroral zone

Test particle calculations are used to compute the effects of gravity and ponderomotive acceleration by shear Alfven wave oscillations on the distribution function of O(+) ions along auroral field lines, assuming an ionospheric Maxwellian source of the ions at 2000 km altitude with approximately 0.5 eV of thermal energy in the parallel component of velocity. The electric field model corresponds to a standing wave oscillation with a frequency approximately 1 Hz in the azimuthal direction superimposed on the background dipole field, in which the wave amplitude is either increasing or decreasing in time. The electric field is taken to be primarily in the perpendicular direction. The time varying wave produces broad distributions with widths of 2 to 10 times the initial 0.5-eV thermal energy of the Maxwellian source, and the density and flux of upward going O(+) ions at one Earth radius are both enhanced in this model. The oxygen ion distribution functions at 1 R(sub E) altitude resulting from interaction with waves whose amplitudes are increasing in time have a more gradual lower energy cutoff than do the distribution functions resulting from decaying waves. The high-energy part of the distribution functions in growing waves reflects the temperature of the Maxwellian source, while the high-energy part of the distributions resulting from decaying waves steepens with time, independent of the source temperature.

Witt, E.↗

Venus ionosphere - Photochemical and thermal diffusion control of ion composition

The major photochemical sources and sinks for ten of the ions measured by the ion mass spectrometer on the Pioneer Venus bus and orbiter spacecraft that are consistent with the neutral gas composition measured on the same spacecraft are identified. The neutral gas temperature (as a function of solar zenith angle) derived from measured ion distributions in photochemical equilibrium is given. Above 200 kilometers, the altitude behavior of ions is generally controlled by plasma diffusion, with important modifications for minor ions due to thermal diffusion resulting from the observed gradients of plasma temperatures. The dayside equilibrium distributions of ions are sometimes perturbed by plasma convection, while lateral transport of ions from the dayside seems to be a major source of the nightside ionosphere.

Bauer, S. J.↗